STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. (AP) – An assistant high school principal in eastern Missouri has been charged with having sex with a minor.
Thirty-nine-year-old Elizabeth Giesler was charged Friday with having sexual contact with a 16-year-old high school student while working at Ste. Genevieve High School. She’s also charged with multiple counts of second-degree statutory sodomy and second-degree statutory rape.
Giesler has been released on $20,000 bond. No attorney is listed for her in court records. A woman who answered the phone at her home said not to call.
A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper wrote in charging documents that Giesler and the student engaged in sexual acts in April and May at her residence. Giesler previously worked for the Liberty School District as a teacher.
An opportunity to bring a pet home for a special price is being offered this week.
Due to overcrowding at the St. Joseph Animal Shelter, a half-off special will be offered for dogs and cats adopted Wednesday through Saturday.
According to a press release, to adopt a shelter dog or cat, an online application must be completed. The adoption application must be submitted online, which can be done from a kiosk at the shelter if someone finds a pet they would like to adopt. The fees associated with adopting a pet vary, depending upon the size of the animal and whether it is spayed or neutered.
The Friends of the Animal Shelter of St. Joseph’s Facebook page has photos of available animals, as does the animal shelter web page. The shelter is located at 701 Lower Lake Road.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A state inspection has found 11 alleged violations of regulations at a Kansas water park where a 10-year-old boy died in 2016.
The Kansas Department of Labor made an audit of the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City public Tuesday, a day after issuing a notice to the park. The inspection was last week.
The audit said safety signs in some park areas were not adequate, records were not available for review and some operating and training manuals were not complete.
The audit said one ride’s parts weren’t replaced as the manufacturer recommended.
The department issued a warning that the issues must be addressed.
A spokeswoman said Schlitterbahn would issue a statement about the audit.
The boy who died nearly two years ago was decapitated while riding a now-closed giant waterslide.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A California man confessed after his arrest that he made the hoax calls that led a police officer to fatally shoot an unarmed man in Kansas, adding he routinely made similar calls to seek attention, a detective testified Tuesday.
Tyler Barriss, 25, is accused of calling Wichita police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28 to report a shooting and kidnapping at a Wichita home. The person who made the two calls said he shot his father in the head and was holding his mother and younger brother at gunpoint in a closet in the house.
Police went to the house where they thought the crime was occurring, and an officer fatally shot 28-year-old Andrew Finch after he opened the door.
The shooting drew national attention to “swatting,” a practice in which a person makes a false report to get emergency responders to descend on an address. Finch had not been the intended target of the call.
Sedgwick County Judge Bruce Brown ruled after the preliminary hearing Tuesday in Wichita that there was sufficient probable cause for trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter, giving a false alarm and interference with a law enforcement officer. The arraignment was set for June 29.
Los Angeles police detective Edward Dorroh told the court that in a police interview the day after the Kansas shooting Barriss claimed that he had “calculated the risk” that someone might be hurt responding to a false call. Reading from the transcript of that police interview, he testified Barris told him “it was only a matter of time and I guess that time was last night. It was so stupid.”
Dorroh said he asked him whether he knew someone could get hurt, and Barriss replied: “I did know that. I am not going to deny that. I did know… the worst possible outcome happened. It is just so unfortunate.”
The detective also testified that when asked why he did it, Barris replied that it was “attention seeking” and that he would have kept doing it if he hadn’t been caught.
Barriss, who used the Twitter handle @SWAuTistic,” told investigators that the Wichita swatting was the result of a dispute over a video game involving a $1.50 bet, Dorroh said. One of the players contacted Barriss because a rival in the game was taunting him. Barriss told police he got the Wichita address from the player who initially contacted him, then followed the other player on Twitter and confirmed the address with him.
Wichita police officer Justin Rapp testified that he was assigned to provide cover from across the street for responding officers on the night of the Wichita shooting. He said he believed at the time that the man who came to the door was the one who had called 911 to report he had killed his father and was holding his mother and sibling at gunpoint.
Rapp said Finch was not compliant with the commands from police officers, and he saw him very briefly put his hands up to ear level and just as quickly put them down to his waist band. Finch then made a motion that looked like he might be drawing a gun from his waistband or a holster. Rapp said he fired one shot from his rifle.
“My fear is that he is going to open fire on the officers,” Rapp said, adding his decision to shoot was based on information from the 911 call and Finch’s actions on the porch.
Prosecutors have declined to charge the police officer who fatally shot Finch. District Attorney Marc Bennett told reporters in April that the officer who fired the shot was stationed across the street, and fired believing Finch was reaching for a weapon when he moved his arm.
Bennett told reporters after Barriss was charged in January in Kansas that there was no other situation quite like it to reference, acknowledging the “sort of novelty” of the case.
Bradley Sylvester, the attorney who represents Barriss, said Monday that what the defense is trying to accomplish at the preliminary hearing is to find out as much evidence as possible that is not in the reports and get as much information as possible. The defense did not present any evidence at this stage of proceedings.
Asked whether the defense believes the evidence supports the involuntary manslaughter charge, Sylvester replied: “That is a weird question because there is not another case quite like it.”
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the preliminary hearing for a California man accused of making a hoax call that led to police fatally shooting an unarmed man in Kansas. (all times local):
1 p.m.
A judge has found probable cause for a California man to stand trial on allegations he made a hoax call that led police to fatally shoot an unarmed man in Kansas.
Twenty-five-year-old Tyler Barriss is accused of calling police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28 to report a shooting and kidnapping at a home in Wichita, Kansas. Police stormed the address and an officer shot 28-year-old Andrew Finch at his front door.
Barriss faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, giving a false alarm and interference with a law enforcement officer.
Barriss engaged in “swatting,” a practice in which someone makes a false report to get emergency responders to an address.
Wichita police officer Justin Rapp testified that he was assigned to provide cover for responding officers. Rapp says he fired one shot because he feared Finch was reaching for a firearm.
Barriss will be arraigned June 29.
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10:50 a.m.
A detective says a California man confessed after his arrest to making a hoax call that led to police fatally shooting an unarmed man in Kansas.
Los Angeles Detective Edward Dorroh testified Tuesday in a preliminary hearing for 25-year-old Tyler Barriss in Wichita.
Barriss is accused of calling police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28 to report a shooting and kidnapping at a home in Wichita, Kansas.
Dorroh told the court he asked Barris whether he knew the risks of making such calls. Barriss replied that he couldn’t deny he knew the risk. Barriss told Dorroh that the “worst outcome happened. It is just so unfortunate.”
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A California man accused of making a hoax call that led to police shooting an unarmed man in Kansas is returning to court, where a judge is set to decide if there is enough evidence to put him on trial for involuntary manslaughter and other charges.
Tyler Barriss, 25, is accused of calling police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28 to report a shooting and kidnapping at a Wichita home. The person who called said he shot his father in the head and was holding his mother and younger brother at gunpoint in a closet in the house in Wichita.
Police went to the house where they thought the crime was occurring, and an officer fatally shot 28-year-old Andrew Finch after he opened the door.
Barriss’ preliminary hearing is scheduled before Sedgwick County Judge Bruce Brown in Wichita. Barriss also faces charges of giving a false alarm and interference with a law enforcement officer.
Prosecutors have declined to charge the police officer who fatally shot Finch. District Attorney Marc Bennett told reporters in April that the officer who fired the shot was stationed across the street, and fired believing Finch was reaching for a weapon when he moved his arm.
The shooting drew attention to “swatting,” a practice in which a person makes a false report to get emergency responders to descend on an address.
Bennett told reporters after Barriss was charged in January in Kansas that there was no other situation quite like it to reference, acknowledging the “sort of novelty” of the case.
Bradley Sylvester, the attorney who represents Barriss, said Monday that what the defense is trying to accomplish at the preliminary hearing is to find out as much evidence as possible that is not in the reports and get as much information as possible.
Asked whether the defense believes the evidence supports the involuntary manslaughter charge, Sylvester replied: “That is a weird question because there is not another case quite like it.”
BOLIVAR — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a single-engine plane crashed at a golf course in southwest Missouri. The pilot died from his injuries.
Tuesday plane crash on a Missouri golf course. Photo courtesy KYTV
The crash happened Tuesday morning at the Silo Ridge Golf Course near Bolivar. The plane hit trees at the golf course as it went down.
Patrol Sgt. Jason Pace says the plane crashed about three-quarters of a mile south of the Bolivar airport.
The 87-year-old pilot was the only person aboard the airplane, according to the MSHP.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Latest on allegations against Gov. Eric Greitens (all times local):
10a.m.
A woman who had an affair with Gov. Eric Greitens is standing by her account that he coerced her into unwanted sexual activity.
The woman who has been identified in court filings by her initials K.S. spoke to St. Louis television station KSDK for a story that aired Monday night.
She said she wasn’t lying while testifying that Greitens coerced her into a sexual act while she was crying and lying on the floor.
Greitens has acknowledged having a consensual affair but has denied any criminal wrongdoing.
A special prosecutor is deciding whether to refile an invasion-of-privacy charge that was dismissed last week. It accused Greitens of taking and transmitting a photo of the partially nude woman without her consent.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on arguments before the Kansas Supreme Court on public school funding (all times local):
11:30 a.m.
Kansas Supreme Court justices who are skeptical that state lawmakers have sufficiently increased school funding this year are struggling with whether they have enough information to say exactly what’s adequate.
Four of the court’s seven members expressed doubts Tuesday about a new law approved this year that phases in a $548 million educating funding increase over five years. The court heard arguments from attorneys on whether the increase is adequate under the state constitution.
But skeptical Justice Dan Biles later suggested in questioning attorney Alan Rupe that the Supreme Court might have to order more fact-finding by a lower court about what funding would be adequate. Rupe represents four school districts suing the state.
Chief Justice Lawton Nuss also questioned whether the Supreme Court needs more information.
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9:35 a.m.
Three of the Kansas Supreme Court’s justices have expressed skepticism that a public school funding increase approved by lawmakers this year is adequate under the state constitution.
The seven-member court heard arguments Tuesday on the state’s plan to spend $548 million more, phased in over five years. The increase approved by lawmakers this spring and signed by Gov. Jeff Colyer was the second hike in two years. Many lawmakers see it as a sizable boost.
But Justice Dan Biles suggested from the bench that the increase still would leave Kansas five years behind in providing adequate funding to its schools. Justices Eric Rosen and Marla Luckert also were skeptical of the increase.
State solicitor general Toby Crouse said the hike gives the state a “fulsome funding system.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are looking for hopeful hints from the state Supreme Court that they’ve increased education funding enough to satisfy the justices and head off any potential threat of a court order shuttering public schools.
But attorneys for four school districts suing the state were preparing to argue Tuesday that the plan lawmakers and Gov. Jeff Colyer settled on this spring, a $548 million increase phased in over five years, still falls as much as $1.5 billion short of providing a suitable education for every child. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a lawsuit filed by the districts in 2010, when this year’s high school graduates were fifth-graders.
The court ruled in October that the state’s current education funding of more than $4 billion a year isn’t sufficient under the Kansas Constitution, even with an increase approved last year. The school districts want the justices to declare that legislators are still short — and to order lawmakers to approve more spending by the end of June.
The justices have promised only to issue their next ruling by June 30. In past hearings, they’ve peppered attorneys for the state and the school districts with questions and have not been shy about expressing frustration with lawmakers.
“What we are interested in is having the Legislature live up to the court’s charge,” said Alan Rupe, the school districts’ lead attorney. “What the Legislature has come up with is a plan that falls way short.”
Colyer, who is Republican, and the GOP-controlled Legislature have worried that if the court isn’t satisfied, it will declare that the state cannot distribute its education dollars through an unconstitutional funding formula — effectively keeping schools closed until legislators approve a fix.
The court threatened to do just that in 2016 to get lawmakers to increase aid to poor school districts. But Rep. Fred Patton, a Topeka Republican and chairman of a special House committee on school funding, said he would be shocked if the court went that far this time.
“You cannot argue that we did not put in a substantial amount of money and school districts won’t benefit,” Patton said.
But the districts’ attorneys note that a study commission by legislators this year said improving schools could cost as much as $2 billion more a year, depending on the state’s ambitions for improving standardized test scores and graduation rates.
Lafayette High School has announced Corey Gilpin as the school’s next Activities Director. Photo courtesy SJSD.
The St. Joseph School District has selected Corey Gilpin to fill an open leadership position at Lafayette High School.
According to a press release from the District, Gilpin will assume the role of Activities Director at Lafayette High School for the 2018-19 school year. He currently teaches special education for the District.
He has a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Northwest Missouri State University and a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from Northwest. He is currently an NCAA basketball and baseball official and has worked with the Missouri State High School Activities Association as a regional observer.
Gilpin is replacing Lafayette’s current AD Jason Simpson. Simpson was recently selected as an assistant principal for Central High School.
The Board of Education approved the hire during Monday’s meeting.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri House committee is to hold its first hearing of a special session focused on whether to try to impeach Gov. Eric Greitens.
The House investigatory committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday at the Capitol to discuss its rules and procedures. The meeting notice says it also could discuss documents pertinent to its investigation.
The committee has been looking into allegations of sexual misconduct, misuse of a charity donor list for political fundraising and other campaign-related allegations against the Republican governor.
It has posted meeting notices for each day from Tuesday through Friday this week.
The special legislative session began Friday and can last for 30 days.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol arrested Hayden Frazier, 22, of Overland Park, Saturday on three preliminary charges of boating while intoxicated in connection with the crash.
The three victims who were killed are 23-year-old Joseph LeMark, of Overland Park; 24-year-old Daniel Lewis, of Overland Park; and 21-year-old Hailey Hochanadel, of Olathe, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
